The Urban Permaculture Farm Magazine

Gardening on your balcony is a great way to bring a little nature to your apartment lifestyle. There are several factors that a person should consider before they begin the adventure of gardening on their balcony.

Get Permission

When first planting your garden on your balcony you need to make sure that your place of residence allows this to be done. Many apartment complexes do not allow full gardens to be grown on the balconies for various reasons such as the weight or the increase of bugs to the area. In addition, many landlords worry that the person will let the garden become unruly and the plants will begin to take over.

Weight Limits

You need to know just how much weight your balcony can hold. Pots and soil can weigh quite a bit, and once you start having numerous pots on the balcony that contain plants, the weight begins to add up quickly. However, in order to make sure that you do not surpass the weight that your balcony can hold, you can use a growing medium other than regular potting soil.  Combine vermiculite, compost and coco fibers for a lighter growing medium. It’s much lighter, but still works in the same way, a great alternative for those wanting to garden on their balcony.

Watering Respectfully

Another issue that you have to consider is watering. The plants will need watering, however, if you are on the second floor or above, you will have to have some sort of plate or rubber mats under the plants in order to catch the water to make sure that those below you to not get their balcony soaked.

Pollination

Another huge issue that you will have to think about is pollination. Many times a balcony is further off the ground, meaning that bees may not travel that far up in order to pollinate the plants. This is where you will have to do a little work on your own and self pollinate in order to make sure that they are getting pollinated. However, you may luck out and the plants will attract bees and insects and remove this step from your garden routine.